Jasson Domínguez, Yankees walk-off Rangers, spoil Jacob deGrom's return to New York

Yahoo

5 days ago

Despite a clash with Jacob deGrom, the Yankees picked up a walk-off, 4-3 win over the Rangers at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday when Jasson Domínguez ended the game with a solo blast off Luke Jackson in the ninth inning.
The one-out homer, The Martian's sixth of the year, came on a hanging slider, secured a series win for the Yanks, and brought an explosive wrap to what had previously been a pitching duel. It also led to an ice bath for Domínguez in less-than-ideal conditions.
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'It was cold,' said the smiling, 22-year-old hero. 'Today, we had a chilly day. That was cold.'
Domínguez had already shown that he has ice in his veins, though, as his dagger was the Yankees' first walk-off home run since Giancarlo Stanton crushed a walk-off grand slam against the Pirates on Sept. 20, 2022. Domínguez also became the fourth-youngest Yankee to hit a walk-off homer.
'I was just looking for something up,' Domínguez said, before adding, 'The first one is always special.'
Domínguez said the moment ranked in the top three of his young career, joining his three-homer game against the A's on May 9 and his first-career homer, a blast off Justin Verlander in his first big league at-bat, in 2023.
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Boone, meanwhile, called the game-winner an example of Domínguez's long-hyped talent and poise.
'He's just not affected by great results or a struggling day,' the manager said. 'He just kind of puts a smile on his face, goes to work, and likes playing the game with his teammates. He's real easy and fun to be around, just because he's got a good outlook on things, but you're really starting to see just how good a talent [he is]. You see him run, you see the speed, you see the power, and he's got some big hits for us too.'
Earlier, deGrom put Texas in strong position for a win, as the ex-Met allowed just two earned runs over seven innings in his return to New York. He also totaled three hits, one walk and nine strikeouts over 103 pitches after Boone said pregame that the Yankees would have 'our hands full and work cut out for us' against the two-time Cy Young winner.
The Yankees' first run off deGrom came in the second inning, as DJ LeMahieu plated Anthony Volpe. Volpe started the frame by smoking a triple off the glove of a diving Sam Haggerty in center field.
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deGrom didn't permit another baserunner until the seventh inning, when the red-hot Cody Bellinger ripped a solo shot to right, extending his career-high hitting streak to 15 games.
With Jackson pitching in the eighth, Aaron Judge then tied the game at three with a two-out, RBI single that saw Trent Grisham get thrown out at third to end the inning.
While deGrom was firing a fastball that averaged 98.4 mph, a nasty slider, a changeup and a curve, the Rangers had their own troubles against a much different pitcher.
Ryan Yarbrough continued to deliver for the Yankees, holding Texas to one run – a Jake Burger solo shot in the fifth – over five innings. The side-arming, junk-balling lefty only allowed three hits while walking none and striking out eight over 81 pitches.
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'I look at him and think I wouldn't have liked facing him,' Boone said of Yarbrough. 'He's tall. He's kind of elbows, knees and throwing everything at you in his delivery. There's some deception to it. It's obviously not overpowering, but it's under what these guys are used to seeing.
'He's throwing the kitchen sink at you while having some deception to him, some funkiness to him.'
A veteran swingman, Yarbrough signed at the very end of spring training for a guarantee of $2 million. He now has a 3.38 ERA for the season and a 1.93 ERA over his last five outings.
'I'm just enjoying every moment of it,' Yarbrough said. 'Definitely been enjoying starting again, and being able to do it here has been fantastic.'
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While Yarbrough shined, Burger clubbed another bases-empty blast off Tim Hill in the seventh. Haggerty then took the struggling Ian Hamilton deep before the inning ended.
The Rangers threatened again in the ninth when Haggerty led off with a single and forced Luke Weaver into the game. With two outs, he then tried to steal second, only to be thrown out on a pickoff throw from Weaver. Haggerty was initially deemed safe on the bang-bang play at second – enraging Boone – but replay review overturned the call and brought the inning to an end.
Then Domínguez delivered what Boone called a 'gritty' win.
'That was a huge win,' Judge added. Going up against one of the greatest pitchers of our generation, that was a big-time win for us. He was making pitches all night. We really couldn't get anything going. We got a couple knocks. Belli had a big homer. But to kind of battle it out and fight all the way to the end to the Domínguez homer, that was pretty special.'
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Now the Yankees will try for a series sweep Thursday afternoon — weather permitting — before heading west to Colorado.
Carlos Rodón will start the finale for the Yankees, while ex-Yankee Nathan Eovaldi will take the ball for Texas.